Web Services

Author: jerry

  • New Content Management System

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    jerry

    Adobe Contribute’s days are numbered, and we couldn’t be happier. We’re glad to announce that we’ll soon be rolling out our new content management system, Concert. In the upcoming weeks and months, you’ll have the opportunity to test and use Concert. Since it’s new, and since we have a bit more control over it, we’d…

  • Real First Names on Profiles and Search Results

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    jerry

    We have some very creative minds on campus, but this creativity has recently caused some confusion for faculty and staff when using the people search (online Gribly). A search for students would often result in a haphazard mix of real first names, genuine nicknames (e.g. Bill for William, Jenny for Jennifer), and a sprinkling of…

  • Website template revised

    Website template revised

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    jerry

    You may notice that the website looks a bit different today. We changed a few things to increase performance and bring more content to the surface. Visually, we preserved the general look and layout, but we’re now controlling it with CSS instead of relying on image files. The most noticeable changes include the larger banner…

  • Introducing Patrick

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    jerry

    We are pleased to announce the recent hiring of Gustavus alumnus Patrick McDougle ’11. Patrick distinguished himself as a Computer Science major, and we are excited to have him put these hard-won skills to use for his alma mater. Patrick’s presence brings the Web Services office up to full strength for the first time in…

  • New Web Developer

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    jerry

    The Web Services team is happy to introduce their newest member, Billy Visto. Billy originally hails from Oakes, ND. He is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris, where he studied Computer Science. Billy was also a track standout and he currently holds the Morris record for the triple jump. Please join us…

  • Feedback just got easier

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    jerry

    Update: A grand experiment has come to a necessary end. We’ll soon be removing the instant feedback feature. We’re not sad about it. It was a great idea that turned out to provide us with a lot of feedback and very little context. Making the issue type optional left us trying to puzzle out a…

  • Gustavus Website Updates

    Gustavus Website Updates

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    jerry

    We’ve made some noticeable modifications to the Gustavus template recently. The changes were made to address various minor issues, the foremost being usability problems in the “seach/go quickly to…” area of the header. Simple, comprehensive searching Where once we had a “go quickly to…” menu, search box, and search menu, we now have one simple…

  • Panoramas Aplenty

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    jerry

    A brief review We recently purchased a one-shot panorama apparatus for our camera that would, in theory, allow us to quickly create 360-degree panoramas of locations around campus. In practice, the set up has proven itself remarkably capable of capturing high-quality images with a modicum of effort. Although it’s hard to eliminate the somewhat tedious…

  • A Classics face-lift

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    jerry

    The Classics Department recently approached us about redesigning and updating their website. We fully understood that they were a small, but incredibly vibrant department, and we wanted this to be communicated without putting an added strain on time or resources. Back to basics We first examined the information they wanted to make accessible. We came…

  • What microformats mean to you

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    jerry

    Recently we’ve highlighted a few instances where we’ve incorporated microformats into web applications and websites (e.g. faculty schedules and the 2006 Nobel Conference site). We’ve even hinted that more microformat-enabled goodies are in the works, yet we’ve only given very cursory overviews as to their purpose, importance, and usage. Rather than embark on our own…